The Mongolian people are well-known for their hospitality. Almost everywhere you go, you are likely to be invited inside a ger and offered some rancid dried milk curds called aarul, and salty tea called suutei tsai, mostly 'tea waste' made up of stems and rejected leaves that are processed in a brick. As disgusting as it may look and taste, always politely accept and try it, as you are a guest of the family.

©Erwin Bakx 1997